Hospital Beds and Braids
by EnemyOfLove
Summary: A short two-shot about a parallel I noticed rewatching 1x04 and 3x08, and the Ezekiel headcanon it caused. Spoilers for those two episodes. Fuller summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is a quick two-shot about inspired by the fact that both Jamie at the end of Fables of Doom and Cassandra at the end of the Eternal Question had braids in their hair. I have this head canon that our favorite world class coin hunter/thief was the one to do their hair, so it resulted in this.

Rating: K+

Disclaimers: I own nothing. All rights to Dean Devlin and TNT and whoever else rightfully owns these wonderful humans.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ezekiel breathed a sigh of relief when the evil librarian was sucked into the book where he couldn't hurt anyone. Jamie was completely healed and thanks to her storytelling his friends were too. Not bad for a day's work, considering no one would listen to him.

"So magic is real!" Jamie shouted excitedly hopping up and down on the bed. "I knew it!"

"Umm," Ezekiel panicked. He didn't usually do the logical explanations. Besides, she had watched a guy get sucked into a story book a few seconds before. So he went with the truth. "Yes. But it's a secret because it can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Magic's what made you sick," he admitted.

"But it also made me better. And saved the town."

"Yes, but only because we were lucky. So can you promise me that you won't tell anyone what happened today?"

Jamie nodded seriously.

"I don't think anyone would believe me anyway."

"Probably not," Ezekiel agreed. In the past few weeks even he had struggled to believe what he saw, so he decided to divert her attention. "Now, since you're feeling better. Let's say we spring you. So you can graduate from pudding to ice cream."

"Yeah!" She agreed eagerly. "I think my dad left some of my clothes in that duffel over there."

"Here you go." He placed it on the vacated hospital bed. "Let me know when you're ready to go."

He quickly exited the room pulling the curtain closed behind him.

A few minutes later she tugged back the curtain.

"I can't get the tangles out of my hair," she complained, throwing the comb to the bed.

Chuckling, Ezekiel picked it up. "I've got it. Do you mind?" He asked.

"No. Go for it."

She settled in cross-legged in front of him. He gently combed through the tangles before automatically beginning to braid her hair.

"There you go," he smiled when he was finished.

Jamie grabbed the mirror off the side table and looked at her hair, beaming.

"Dad tries to do my hair like this sometimes, but it usually ends up looking worse than when he started."

Ezekiel chuckled.

"I'm not surprised. Now, are you ready to go see him and show him your miraculous recovery?"

"Yeah!"

They were a few yards away from the library when Ezekiel stopped, quickly scribbling something on a prescription pad he had nicked. He handed Jamie the piece of paper along with the lucky coin.

"Do me a favor. Keep this for good luck, and if you ever need me, just call okay?"

"Okay!" She caught the youngest librarian off guard when she hugged him around the waste. "Thanks, Ezekiel. For everything."

" _Thank you_ for saving my friends. Make sure you keep telling your stories."

"I will!"

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Author's note: The next chapter is his interaction with Cassandra. :) Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Part two! Can be read as Cassekiel but not intended that way. Just some fluff and a little bit of head canon background for Ezekiel's past.

Disclaimers: You know the drill. I own nothing. All rights to the rightful owners.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ezekiel couldn't help but notice how Cassandra flinched when Eve called her, "Red." Her hand immediately moved to touch the cloth covering her head.

The next time Ezekiel visited, he had a solution.

"I heard they're letting you out in a few days," he commented from the doorway.

"Yeah, I get to come back to the real world," she sighed. "What do you have behind your back?"

"A present."

He smirked pulling the box wrapped in science and math themed paper, placing it in front of her. Unlike the way she had torn through the Christmas presents they had exchanged, Cassandra carefully undid the paper before folding it neatly and placing it off to the side. A little hesitantly, she peeked under the lid.

"Ezekiel," she smiled gratefully, pulling the wig out, "It's perfect. Thank you."

Holding it up on her hand, she carded through the strands, enjoying its luxurious feeling. "It's so soft."

"It's Hollywood grade. I asked a few friends where the professionals got theirs and almost everyone said this company."

"This is very sweet. Thank you. I've been feeling a little self-conscious about going around with just the head cover I'll have to wear."

"I'm glad you like it." He ducked his head slightly. "I tried to get as close to your original hair color as I could."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"It's perfect."

She tried it on if front of the mirror, constantly adjusting and readjusting.

"What's wrong? Does it feel okay?" He asked worried.

"It feels great. It's just I'm not sure the style looks quite right."

He stood directly behind her so could see her reflection.

"Hm. I see what you mean. May I?" he asked, hands half-extended towards the wig.

"Of course," she smiled warmly.

He started by moving the part just off center. Then he fixed the bangs, and began a loose braid on the right side.

"Where did you learn to braid hair?"

"I'm a thief. Nimble fingers. It's not that hard to figure out."

Cassandra watched his reflection carefully as he focused entirely too fiercely on the task at hand.

"You know you're not as good of a liar as you think you are," she stated matter-of-factly.

Meeting her inquisitive gaze in the mirror he relented.

"There was a foster kid who I knew growing up. She followed me around a lot, sweet kid but she always had knots in her hair. Her mom couldn't be bothered to get them out, so half the time it looked like a bird's nest. One day she said she was sick of it and was going to chop it all off."

"But you stopped her?" Cassandra guessed.

"Well, call me crazy but I didn't think zig zag safety scissors were going to do her much good. I offered to try and do something to help. I had seen women braid their hair to go to sleep in old movies, so I thought it might help."

"Did it?"

"The last time I saw her, she had two pigtails that went down to her waist."

"When was that?" She asked, wanting the conversation to continue.

Ezekiel huffed a small sad laugh.

"Shortly before the Library invited me the first time."

"Ezekiel…"

"We lost touch. It's not a big deal," He shook away the memory. "Anyways, do you like the wig better now?"

Cassandra looked back at her reflection, and smiled.

"Much better. Thank you, Ezekiel." She hugged him and kissed his cheek gently before murmuring, "It sounds like you made a great foster brother."

"Uh… I never said…." He stammered.

"Shh. It's our little secret," she promised. "On one condition."

"What" he asked wearily.

"You promise to braid my real hair when it grows back in."

"It's a deal," he chuckled. He added after a moment. "I'm so glad you're okay, Cassandra. I don't know what I would do without you." This time he hugged her, before dropping a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I can't wait until you come home on Tuesday."

"Me neither," she agreed as she squeezed him tighter.

* * *

Author's note: Yeah, so that's my head canon that Ezekiel was a foster kid, based on my interpretation of his comments in 3x07. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading. Reviews are lovely, but be kind please. :)


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